Saturday, April 19, 2008

Last week I read some stories about how Bielema was encouraging Badger fans to make a bigger deal out of the spring game. The stories referenced other schools' games, where they draw near-capacity crowds and scalpers get serious cash for the tickets.

I, too, wish our spring game was a big deal. And yet even though entrance was free, Jana, Will and I were in Appleton today for a trip to the Fox Cities Book Festival and children's museum. Why? Two reasons:

1. Thought the weather was going to be lousy yesterday and planned inside activities. It didn't turn out that way, but if I'm going to commit to watching football practice for three hours, it had better not be 35 degrees and raining. The same philosophy applies to Brewers games, and it's a good bet that the presence of a roof over the top of Miller Park and a comfortable temperature inside makes it easier for the team to draw fans from outside the metro Milwaukee area.

2. Can't really do anything about the weather, so how about this: hold the game in conjunction with something else Badger fans like to do. Like, say, Crazylegs? Case in point: Schwalbach and I will both be in Madison next weekend for Crazylegs, it's an annual tradition for my brother and friends. But he lives 4-5 hours away and I live two hours away, and it's hard, if not impossible, to justify making that trip on back-to-back weekends. Especially with young families.

If memory serves, when we were in school Crazylegs, Butch's Bologna Bash, and the spring game were all on the same day. I forget why they split up/ended these events, but it would be nice if there was one big Badger Weekend in April that brought lots of events - sporting and non-sporting - together.

Until then, it's just Crazylegs weekend for me.

I'll read some of the spring game recaps and comment later, but at the very least it seems like no one else got hurt. So the game was an unqualified success!

2 comments:

Millie
said...

In addition to the Spring Game, Butch's Bologna Bash and Crazylegs, you're forgetting one other event held that day when we were in school...the drink a bunch of 40s, watch part of the spring game, pass out for a while and then go play softball against the Herald event.